Thinking
by idiot devil
Summary: A late night bath ends with the realization that it wasn't over, not yet. Post Ending.


The world had begun anew.

The sea god had finally regressed and admitted it's feelings for ojoshi-sama, leaving the inhabitants of Shioshishio to awaken at last from their deep slumber. Having worried constantly over his father's condition upon seeing his home in ice, it was a relief, at the very least, to see him walking and playing the reluctant role yet all knowing role of grandpa to his family.

Yet...

He couldn't really feel it at the time, as he lay in the bath alone on the cusp of midnight. His hands were entwinned on the windowstill, one finger pointing towards Manaka's room and the other towards the occean that had shaped their lives. The finger was crooked, and not at all posessive of the blind rage that had drove him to save those whom he had cared about.

The truth was, he wasn't sure.

He and Manaka knew of each others feelings, sure, but that didn't mean that he wanted to act on them. He was conscious of the sea water splashing out fo the small tub, the ebb and flow of the minisclue currents a microcosm of the very same feelings in his heart. Before, before the event that had stolen five years from all of them, he had been so certain of her feelings for her, so much so that he was never really sure whether he lived to protect himself, or to protect her.

Her smile was the thing that he had treasured most, so when it had been taken away by the Sea God and she had been replaced by a shell that he refused to consider her, it had almost broken him, defeated him. And nothing beat the mighty Hikari, nothing. She was the only exception, her childlike charm a sledgehammer against his heart, every movement, every twirl of that red hair.

So when Tsugumu had caught her, the rage that he had felt... No, he didn't want to think about it. It wasn't to be anyway. He had hated him then, hated him for stealing his Manaka away from him. Then, he realized that Manaka could never belong to someone and was an individual in her own right, that was when he had begged him to restore her heart, the heart had been so cruelly taken away by the lonely Sea God.

She had come in then. Not Manaka, no. Another part of his overly dramatic life. Ever since he had met Miuna, sticking gum in a misguided wish to send his sister away, he had treated her like a younger sister, wanting her to feel the dread of having a superior older brother such as himself. He was so blind, he couldn't see it then, but the signs were already there. The salt bottle that she had prepared, the quick turns of the head followed by that distinctive red blush..., now they were the same age.

And he wasn't sure what to do.

It was true that he loved Manaka, and he knew that for whatever he choose, a part of him would always love that ditzy girl that drove stars around him. As quickly as it had come though, the red turned to black, and the blue eyes to black as he saw Miuna in his mind's eye as she wrapped her arms around him underneath the stars. "Stop!." He slammed his fists into the small tub and immediately jets of salt water jumped onto the floor, the tub rocking with the overflow.

Sighing, he got out and wrapped a towel around his legs, stretching out for his clothes. He was halfway down the hallway before he heard a soft sound. It was..., no, it was two sounds. He knew that he probably shouldn't eavrsdrop, reasoning that it was probably just his worrisome sister and Itaru-san going over some bills together, but the sound had some sort of an allure to it, a pull that pulled him in its direction.

Going by his admittably terrible senses, he pushed one feet in front of another, taking care not to make a sound, until he got close to where he thought it was. As he got closer, the soft hum turned into more of a sniff, and his heart began pounding. A million questions exploded into his mind, what was happening? Had the snowing begun again?

"Miuna..."

The high pitched, yet whispered voice stopped him in his tracks. That was Manaka. What was she doing up so late? When he had went to take a bath, he had passed by her room and she was sound asleep, a smile of contentment on her face as Miuna lay next to her. And now...

"But..., Manaka-san, I couldn't..."

Miuna's voice was too hushed.

"Hii-kun is...(He heard her swallow), Hii-kun is precious to me. But, Miuna-chan..., you are precious to me too..."

His heart was still now. He shouldn't be hearing this. He didn't want to hear this.

"I know Miuna-chan loves Hii-kun very much, and I know-that Miuna-chan "sniff" protected Hii-kun," Her fists ball up, and tears begin to emmit from her sapphire-like eyes, " That's why... I could never take Hii-kun from Miuna-chan, never."

The never is said with a tone of finality, and he realizes to his horror that he's no longer sure how he feels about that.

His foot brushes against the edge of the carpet and he nearly slips, righting himself just in time against the table. The voices quickly stop, and there is a scamper of feet as both Manaka and Miuna rush to open the folding door.

He is already gone by then, safe behind a locked door and cowering underneath a blanket. He hates this. He wants to go comfort Miuna but what would he tell her? That he would give up Manaka for her sake, after all that they had been through? And he didn't want to imagine, couldn't imagine how Manaka felt either, now caught between her best friend and him.

 _I bet she wishes that she still couldn't love now_

Damn.

The image of Uroko-sama taunting him and asking what he could change appeared again, and he had thought that it was finally all over.

 _I can already imagine Uroko-sama laughing.._

Since it totally wasn't over.


End file.
